What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

[tafnut]

This was suggested to me by gh's post on the boomer thread - what's the nerdiest track thing you've done? Mine is something only my wife knows about: I have kept a track notebook since 1971, a new one every year, in which I keep my own top 10 list, world men, US men, and US Women, as I get the results. In this new internet age, it's redundant, but I still do it. That's why any mark that makes the new season's list is very cool to me.

Can you top that?

[stevehj197]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

not quite that nerdy, but similar.... for years I kept a big loose leaf notebook with a separate page for each men's event, where I kept a running top 10 "all-time list", World and US, on a day-to-day basis. I also took these 2 lists all the way down to 7'0" in the HJ for many years.

And as I mentioned a few months ago, at age 17 I dug out my own high jump pit, about 2 feet deep and about 6' x 12', then my Dad had it filled with sawdust. Hard work.

[Ultrarunner]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

I once looked at my watch to get my split at every 200m in a 10,000 meter race. Now that is a little geeky and anal. And yes I did later become an accountant.

[dj]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

My geekiness got the best of me before I was a fan. Until I began running CC in '67, I was a hardcore baseball/stats fan. But after watching Jim Beatty break 4:00 indoors, I began an obsession trying to create an all-time world list of the sub-4 milers.

I had no T&FN or the ATFS existed, or I never would have gotten so nutty. All I had were the local papers, the Sunday NY Times and various almanacs (The World Almanac was always the best.)

It took me about five years to get my list nearly complete, and the day after Dave Patrick won the '68 IC4A and led four first timers under 4:00, the number got up to 95, or at least so reported the NYT.

Well piss on the NYT! I had 94 of them and that jibed with everything I could uncover elsewhere. But the NYT being the NYT, they had to be right. It took me another year of digging before I discovered the that the f'n NYT had included a converted 3:41.5 by Bill Dellinger (he hadn't broken 4:00) in their count.

I discovered T&FN within months of finalizing my list, then did my best to flunk out of college first semester of freshman year when I had just purchased six years of T&FN back copies and began pulling all-nighters compiling 25-deep all-time World and U.S. lists instead of studying for finals and writing papers.

It's been downhill ever since.

[Jefferson Buffalo]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

>It's been downhill ever since.<

Well, at least it hasn't been cross-country.

[MJD]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

>I once looked at my watch to get my split at every 200m in a 10,000 meter race.
>Now that is a little geeky and anal. And yes I did later become an
>accountant.

Doesn't everyone do that:-). Had to think about this during a 10 miler and I guess the thing that the guys I run with bug me the most about would be the fact that I have a habit of stopping my watch when taking a fall in the winter, frequently mid yard sale, but always before checking for broken limbs and/or other injuries.

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

>This was suggested to me by gh's post on the boomer thread - what's the
>nerdiest track thing you've done? Mine is something only my wife knows about: I
>have kept a track notebook since 1971, a new one every year, in which I keep my
>own top 10 list, world men, US men, and US Women, as I get the results. In this
>new internet age, it's redundant, but I still do it. That's why any mark that
>makes the new season's list is very cool to me.

Can you top that?


I can't top that because I only started the same lists in 1981. It is funny though that for years I thought I was the only geek in the world and I even felt like there was something wrong with me. I have now realized that I am not alone. For that, I want to thank all the track and field geeks of this world for making me feel a little bit "normal".

Best wishes for the holidays to you all.

[MJR]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

Two Words:

Race Walk

I Win!!!

Happys to all~~

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

Before I was married, I had subscriptions to both Playboy and T&FN, and they both seemed to arrive often on the same day. The Playboy would often remain untouched for a day or two until I had read the T&FN cover-to-cover. Whenever I moved the Playboys always ended up in the dumpster, but the T&FN, as we all know, can NEVER be thrown out (much to my wife's dismay).

[tafnut]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

Dang - I forgot all about Mr. Roth. I would never have started the thread if I had remembered his psychosis. You DO win, MJR, but isn't it nice to know you're only a little weirder than the rest of us? :-)

[Pego]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

At least most of you guys are former participatory athletes. I am just a couch potato who loves the sport.

[tandfman]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

>At least most of you guys are former participatory athletes. I am just a couch potato who loves the sport.<

You are not alone, Pego.

[Jon]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

Probably the geekiest thing I've done was to frame my whole autograph collection and hang them on my bedroom wall. Well..... not quite WHOLE collection (I have quite a few from the 2003 World Indoors which I haven't framed yet).

Another kinda geeky thing I've done is set up my own athletics website (as some of you may already know) - http://www.athleticslinks.com

And I still haven't learned - I'm setting up my second website - http://www.runjumpthrow.com - something for you all to look forward to in the new year!

[waynehobley]

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

I tried to emitate Mo Greene's manuerisms after his world record race.Top that.

Re: What's the geekiest track thing you've done?

And manuerisms they are, too.